Residents of Tshwane’s townships and informal settlements have expressed renewed hope of getting improved services following the takeover of an ANC-led coalition government.
The ANC on Friday led a march to the City of Tshwane where it called on its deployees to ramp up service delivery and create much needed jobs.
Among others, the ANC wants the new administration to complete stalled infrastructure projects.
“We want you to attend to all incomplete capital projects, finish them,” said ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula who presented the memorandum termed “ the people’s mandate”.
The party also wants the municipality to extend its Extended Public Works Programme to create at least 20 000 jobs.
“Mayor we are pleading with you and your executive to create opportunities for our people. We need to employ at least 20 000 people through your EPWP,” he said.
Hundreds turned out for the 3 kilometres walk that started from Marabastad to the municipal offices in the Pretoria CBD.
Many expressed renewed hope for service delivery and economic opportunities following the ANC’s takeover of the municipality after 8 years of DA control.
“We are happy that the ANC is back. We have been trying to get the municipality to help us with our hijacked RDP houses but Brink did not have time for us, now we have a mayor and councillors who care about our issues,” said a resident from Soshanguve.
Informal traders organisations said successive DA administrations were pushing them out of the CBD.
“We have been contacting the municipality for many years but they didn’t bother to attend to us. We want to return to our trading spots because we were removed by metro ( Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department) on the instruction of the DA government. We have already given a memorandum to the new mayor,” said Joyce Mashele who represents organised hawkers.
The next local government elections are expected to be held in 2026 and the City of Tshwane is expected to be among the most contested municipalities.
The mayor Nasiphi Moya accompanied by several MMCs received the memorandum and said her team had hit the ground running and vowed to do her best.
“I have been to many places and people are happy. They say we have never had a mayor visit us and SG we assure you that we don’t have time for politics and we serve communities regardless of who they vote for,” she said throwing shade at DA.
The ANC has also ousted the DA in cities of Joburg and Ekurhuleni.